Single-source documentation and conditional text

[Carl Stieren <STIEREN -at- SIMWARE -dot- COM>]

Does anyone has a success story of either

* single-source documentation

(using the same source for different formats of output, which usually means
different media (HTML, .hlp, .pdf)

* conditional text

(using the same source to produce customized, context-specific documentation
for different users or platforms ... for example, a user's guide for a Mac
version of a product and a Windows 95/Windows NT version of a product, in
which only the instructions for that platform will appear)

If you have a real-life example of either, please let me know.

Of special interest to me would be an example combining both single-source
and conditional documentation, as would any a failed attempts at either (in
order to warn others who might wander down the same dangerous path).

I am preparing my presentation for SIGDOC '97 in Salt Lake City, and I would
like some examples for use in my paper, which will bear the title,

"Add a cup of milk, one egg and stir: single-source documentation for today"


 - Carl Stieren

Ottawa, Canada, where spring has finally arrived
... Que le printemps commence....Ja, ja, ja, der Fruhling der ist da!....
.........and the Ottawa Tulip Festival has just begun!

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